I only came across this song by Luke Bryan a couple of weeks ago, but I have been playing it to no end.

Every time I hear it, I think of a couple of friends I hunted with as a boy growing up. And then my mind shifts to the men I served with. Dangerous bars we shouldn’t have been in. Dangerous parts of foreign cities we should have steered clear of. And then our time down range in a bit of a shooting gallery.

But it wasn’t always dangerous. There was sheer boredom. Play fights when we should have been field day-ing (cleaning). Real fights when one of the boys got drunk. Pranks too numerous to count.

I wouldn’t trade anything for those days, and hopefully this song brings back some memories for you. (Man or woman, we’ve all had friends precisely as described in this song.)

Hope you enjoy it, and if you feel so inclined, share a memory or two in the comments. (Or a similar song that speaks to you.)

Keep the faith,

Stan R. Mitchell

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

P.S. If you enjoy fast-paced books, you just might like my works. “Sold Out” tracks the life of a legendary Marine Sniper after a CIA unit decides to kill him for reasons of national security. “Little Man, and the Dixon County War” tells the uphill fight a young deputy faces after surviving three years of war only to find himself in the sights of a mighty cattle baron. And “Soldier On,” a short novel, follows the lives of several German soldiers in a depleted infantry company trying to make it through the final, miserable months of World War II.

What a strong song, Stan. It actually made me think of my relationship – everything we’ve been through and the fact that he’s been by my side through some very difficult moments. Thanks for sharing this.

That’s beautiful, Bruce. It’s not easy to answer such a comment when you’re not a poet and you’re torn between having wished you had served with the person who said it and feeling thankful you didn’t go through everything they went through.

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